


once i was seven years old

by annadavidson



Series: let us duel the stars (a mass effect dual au) [12]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Dual AU, Gen, LGBTQIA+ Characters Appreciation Week 2017, Mass Effect AU, Mass Effect Dual AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-03 22:17:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12155916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annadavidson/pseuds/annadavidson
Summary: The cheering and screaming of the crowd fueled her.Summary: A glimpse into Ana’s past and the moment she chose to join the Initiative.





	once i was seven years old

The cheering and screaming of the crowd fueled her. It helped her ignore the throbbing in her knuckles, the bruise forming around her right eye, the agony in her ribcage. It put a wicked grin on her face after she blocked the blow. The man whose fist she’d blocked saw her grin, saw the fire in her eyes and wavered. She took the opportunity and sent a swift, fast fist up, clocking him hard under his jaw and sending him staggering back.

He fell down and Ana spread her arms wide, grinning and calling down to him, “I wouldn’t get up, if I were you!”

But he did get up.

Damn, she loved it when they got back up.

He managed to grab her and threw her back. Her back collided with the metal fencing that surrounded them, caging them in. The man’s body glowed with his biotics. He’d tried using his biotics against her a few times now. She loved showing biotics that their powers were nothing compared to her brute force and strength.

Was she cocky? Absolutely.

She launched herself off the cage and tackled him, putting all her strength into it, pushing him to the ground. Before he could try to roll them and get on top, she was already throwing punches down, striking him in the face over and over. She continued to do so until he was passed out under her, his face and her hands splattered with blood.

She stood up, her breaths coming out heavy with exhaustion, her adrenaline fading. She felt rather than saw the referee grab her wrist and raise her arm, announcing her victorious.

Ana later watched the man get taken away on a stretcher as she leaned against the cage from the outside, no longer trapped inside it. She didn’t need to check to know the money from her win had already been wired to her account.

“Keep winning,” the ring leader had said, “And your pretty ass will be rich.” He’d slapped her ass. She hated him.

 _“Fuck off,”_  she’d snarled as she snapped his wrist. The only reason he hadn’t struck her back was because she knew she scared him, and the only reason he hadn’t fired her was because she made him more money than any of the other underground fighters.

She hadn’t bothered to wipe the blood off her hands, just unwrapped them and inspected the bruising and cuts. She wasn’t paying attention as she walked out, the sky dark and the only light that of lamps that shined down on her. She wasn’t worried about being jumped – if anyone was stupid enough to try, they’d walk away with at least a broken nose, if they walked away at all. So far her cockiness and her ability to throw a punch hadn’t let her down.

She paused however as a bright light caught her attention and looked to see a lit up poster with EXPLORERS WANTED and JOIN THE INITIATIVE plastered over it. She couldn’t help wondering what, exactly, kind of explorers they were looking for, and of course, if they paid more than the security job she had during the day and the fighting one during the night. After all, she couldn’t feed herself or put a roof over her head with empty pockets.

The picture of a ship made it obvious that they wanted space explorers but… wasn’t space already explored? Or did they plan to go even farther?

Ana couldn’t help glancing up at the sky. She’d always been fascinated by and drawn to the stars. She’d tried to get into the Alliance but during training, they hadn’t liked her attitude or her resentment toward authority. Needless to say she flunked out fast. But the training had stuck along with what she’d learned on the streets.

She had no love or hate for Earth, but perhaps this was her chance to get off the planet, to – well to  _explore._  Perhaps this was her chance to make a difference.

She rolled her eyes at herself. The thought of her making some sort of difference – the thought of someone giving her that chance, it didn’t seem possible. All she was good at was surviving on her own and beating people up. She wasn’t much of an explorer. She’d tried to get out of her life, to make something out of herself with the Alliance but they hadn’t wanted her. They’d asked her to change and she hadn’t wanted to do that. She doubted the Initiative would be any different.

Yet, she found herself memorizing the number on the poster, and the following morning, she found herself giving them a call.

Eventually she would find herself aboard the Tempest in Andromeda.

**Author's Note:**

> Like/reblog on Tumblr [here](http://magicrobins.tumblr.com/post/165764674055/once-i-was-seven-years-old).


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